Prayer for the Day

by Revd Canon David White

29th March 2026 - Palm Sunday

Then today,
Him and my little donkey! Ha – laugh? –
I thought I’d kill myself when he first started.
So did the rest of them. Gave him a cheer
Like he was Caesar himself, only more hearty:
Tore off some palm-twigs and followed shouting,
Whacking the donkey’s behind…Then suddenly
We see his face.
The smile had gone, and somehow the way he sat
Was different – like he was much older – you know –
Didn’t want to laugh no more.

Palm Sunday begins the most solemn week in the Church’s year – Holy Week, when we remember the final days of the life of Jesus and his death on the cross on Good Friday. Palm Sunday has a bitter sweet feel to it as Jesus heads the parade into the city that is destined to kill him. It feels puzzling, not only to go voluntarily to the place where your innocence will not protect you, but also to enter the arena of your own execution in the midst of song and acclamation. The City is in turmoil and the people ask, ‘Who is this?

This poem by the Tasmanian poet Clive Sansom is offered for mediation and reflection. It catches the seriousness of what is happening in spite of all the excitement, as he imagines the owner of the donkey who yesterday had seen Pilate and his entourage come bouncing along the same road with armour shining. The entry of Jesus is humble, profound and serious.

By the end of this week Jesus will lead a very different procession of condemned criminals on their way to their place of execution. That will be a shabby, sordid affair made up of those who have to be there and the curious who can never be mistaken for disciples. Imagine yourself in the crowd watching both processions; what do you see and feel?